Ordinarily a Day
by Paper Lanterns And Yogurt
Summary: Neji wakes Tenten up for training. The odd thought process of the silent boy.


Does Tenten wear cotton or lace?

That's an odd thing to be pondering about, Neji decided as he opened his teammate's bedroom door. _Obviously she wears cotton, because she is a practical person. The only reason she would be wearing lace would be if she went on a da-_ Neji caught himself, smirked at the absurdity of Tenten's love life, and continued in his search for his errant partner.

Ever since she first became tardy to practice it had been Neji's duty to find her, often breaking into her single apartment, and dragging her out of bed (usually metaphorically; once, literally). It's been two and a half years since they've met each other, but Neji liked to think it was Tenen's way of trusting him _no__t_ to kill her when she is late. As well, only his Byakugan would be able to find the needle-thin wires stringing up all of the paper tags littered outside the perimeter. It's a matter of practicality, really, it's not like he enjoyed being inside her house more than he should.

Would Tenten care if her bra and panties matched? Another trivial question plagued Neji's mind as he side-stepped all of the traps inside of Tenten's bedroom. He moved to the left as a wire was activated, allowing five shuriken to thunk into the drywall behind him. _Tenten certainly would not care if her undergarments matched. Does she even wear a bra? Or chest bindings?_ Neji slid to the right this time and ducked, a spiked mace flying over his head. _Probably the latter, seeing as she is an efficient ninja and would see bras as only a hindrance... Hmm, Tenten is being unusually lazy today._

Neji took note of his teammate, twirling out of the way of two dozen or more kunai coming at him from several different angles, and noticed that the lump where her body should be underneath her pastel pink comforter had not moved at all. Usually the mace would awaken her from whatever dream she was having, and she would be able to disable the other traps, but such was not the case. It seemed Neji will have to wake her up himself.

_Is she on her period?_ A likely idea, since Neji knew what happens to the female body once a month, and how it made every woman he has ever known slightly more grouchy. It affected even Lady Hinata, who has more than once been willing to knee him in the groin for no apparent reason other than 'why the hell not?' and 'I don't like your face today' (her excuses, not his).

Neji quickly deduced it could not possibly Tenten's time of the month because that was two weeks ago. He remembered because although Tenten is, as mentioned before, a rational person, she came to training wielding a battle axe and chucked it at him before he could even greet her.

If she is not on her period then did something upset her? Neji tried to think of all the scenarios that would put his teammate in such a foul mood between last afternoon and this morning. He intercepted two sais aimed at his face with his Jyuuken, sending them into the floor beside Tenten's bed, and hoped that would wake her up. _Did Kiba talk to her? That might make her mad, especially that time he insinuated he would have to protect her in a battle. Or was it Naruto? Anyone who talks to that idiot would surely end up with a headache._

The Hyuuga ran through any person Tenten would not be on good terms with, but the chances of meeting them in the time span given would be next to zero. Finally, Neji grabbed a whirling fuuma shuriken mid-air by the middle and folded it back up, placing it on Tenten's dresser as he came closer to her and kneeled down to further inspect what could be amiss.

_Did _I_ do something__?_ Now there was a thought worth thinking. Neji was positive Tenten would express displeasure should he voice an opinion or comment she did not agree with, but she had said nothing of the sort yesterday. There had been few times Tenten did not speak her mind, most if not all of them being mission-related. She would have no reason to hold her tongue around him, certainly.

Unless it concerned something she was particularly against mentioning to him? If so it would be dire for him to know then, so he can rectify whatever mistake he made while interacting with her or help amend any sort of insult he may have sent her. Neji knew he comes off a bit 'snobby' at times and might forget that other people are not as unaffected as he is to criticism. Did he say something that made Tenten feel insecure?

Within Neji's head he began to rewind over every nuance, ever action, gesture, look, and word he told Tenten in their past training match that could be taken differently. Sadly, it was all similar to how he acted the day before and so he found no fault with any of it.

... except, maybe _that_ is the dilema. Had Tenten secretly been getting fed up with him this whole time? Though trust is something Neji knows he and Tenten share together, he is suddenly aware that she might not consider him her _friend_ as even enemies can put trust in each other. It's an entirely new discovery, one that settles in Neji's chest like a weighted rock drowning under cold swamp water.

He will just have to ask her.

Placing a hand on where her shoulder is (which thankfully was her shoulder) Neji shook Tenten slightly and heard with bemused ears as a slow groan sounded from the covers. He intelligently stood up and took a step back, mentally bracing himself for the screaming that was about to occur like it usually does and the weapons thrown at him for disrupting her sleep.

...

Except it never happened.

Tilting his head to the side, perplexed at the outcome, Neji went back to Tenten and shook her once more.

This time a giggle came from her that lit up her entire bedroom as if the sun had just galloped over the horizon through her windows, though none of her lights were on and the curtains were drawn, but to Neji that is exactly what happened. A mass of fall colors, like the entirety of autumn itself curled into long sweeping tendrils, rose from the blankets as a small tanned hand swept them aside to finally reveal Tenten's chuckling face.

Neji's face sat still as he waited for her to address him, all the while silently complaining. She_ really is too pretty sometimes_.

"Hey," she slurred, her casualness dispelling most of the exotic air about her; replacing with a warm, comforting feeling. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her an expecting look, knowing she would figure it out soon enough. With Tenten, she could understand and communicate without words, something he enjoyed as it made expressing himself easier. Which is to say, not much at all.

Tenten laughed again, this time her voice obstructed by nothing and free to dance around her room as it pleased. It eased the doubt in Neji's mind, a pleasantly free emotion washing over him like her peals did. Turning to him, hair still askew and chortles still escaping her, she said, "That's _tomorrow_, Nej. _Today_ is our free day."

Minutely, Neji's brow drew together. He did not know that.

The brunette girl simply nodded, sitting up and pulling off her covers. She didn't seem to care that wearing only a tank top and athletic shorts could be considered inappropriate in front of a thirteen year old male, yet Neji saw nothing wrong with it so he did not correct her. She had really nice legs anyways.

"Do you have _any clue_ to what today might be?" she questioned, getting up from her mattress (she couldn't afford the bed frame) and walked past him to open up her drawer, giving him a 'are you kidding me' grin as she noticed the folded fuuma. Before Neji could articulate an answer, Tenten was waving him out of her room. "Think about it outside. I'll be there in a minute."

Neji seated himself in Tenten's living room by her low dining table, taking up a meditative position to help him find what made today a special day.

_It is not the Chinese New year. Or any birthday - is it?_ Neji pursed his lips slightly. _No, it is not. Has she made any purchases she is exceptionally elated about?_ Weapons always did make Tenten chirpy, but it would not call for a free day as she would definitely want to try it out as soon as possible (usually on him). _Most likely Gai has declared it a free day, though I have not been told of this fact. Why so?_ Reasons came up but all of them were insane. _Has Kakashi voluntarily agreed to one of Gai's challenges?_ Now that would call upon a free day, but Neji couldn't fathom the lethargic ninja doing any of the sort. _Something exciting happened between yesterday evening and this morning. Something that has allowed an entire day off from training, that I was not told of. Something spontaneous. Something sudden. Something... __  
_

By the time Tenten came out of her room, wearing her usual pink shirt and dark pants with her hair spun up in buns, Neji had gone from 'calmly contemplative' to 'furtively frustrated' despite no emotion readable on his pale face. She hid a smile behind her hand as she walked over.

"Figure it out yet?"

Almost ruefully, Neji shook his head, awaiting the answer. Tenten's smile grew as she beheld the 'Hyuuga genius' become stumped. He looked like a puppy, the way his head tilts to the side and his eyes focus in on what they wish to learn. If he had a tail it would be wagging with anticipation

Deciding to indulge in her Neji-puppy fantasies, Tenten patted him on his head and began heading towards her front door.

"It's just an ordinary day, Nej."


End file.
